Tutorial: Where to Apply Contour Eyeshadow Color on an Asian Eye

When I first started watching videos and reading blogs on how to apply makeup, especially eyeshadow, I always heard/read that we should place the darkest colors on the crease. I obediently followed.

And looked awful. Haha!

As the crease and contour area differ between Asians and Caucasians due to bone structure dissimilarities, eye makeup techniques for Asians and Caucasians must also differ.

While the crease and contour area of a Caucasian eye coincide, the Asian eye’s contour area is not as obvious. A less pronounced orbital rim and additional layer of fat under the skin prevents the formation of a lid crease in 50% of Asians. For those with a lid crease, a term we call ‘double eyelids’, the contour area is also not as apparent as in a Caucasian eye.

It is, therefore, important to know where your contour area, and not the crease per se, is to create the perception of more deep-set eyes with a darker eyeshadow color.

but if I were to place the darkest color on my ‘crease’, and open my eyes, I would look like I didn’t apply anything there at all.

I only applied a light stroke of brown eyeliner. If I had applied a darker eyeshadow color and smudged it out with the hope of creating more depth and dimension to my eyes, I would be greatly disappointed. Not only will I be unable to achieve the deep-set look I desire, the dark color will close up my eyes and make them look smaller. Yikes!

Instead, what I like to do and find most easy to locate my CONTOUR AREA, is to tilt my head back, and then look down into the mirror.

See that? I wouldn’t have been able to see my contour area if my life depended on it otherwise. That contour area is where you should apply a dark eyeshadow shade to create an eye with more dimension and depth. Not the ‘crease’ line.

Another technique you can use to locate your contour area is to use an eyeshadow brush to gently push the lid into the socket. Where it sinks in the most, is the contour area.

I marked the contour area to make it more obvious that, for most Asian eyes, the contour area it is NOT the same as the crease line.

As you can see, when I look straight ahead again, the line that marks the contour area is above the crease line, and not on the crease line. So the next time you watch Youtube videos of Western makeup gurus or artists telling you to ‘take a dark eyeshadow shade and apply it to your crease’, you’ll know where you should not be placing that on.